Sunday, 30 March 2014

This is the little hamlet of Riglos, a bit touristy owing to these spectacular sandstone cliffs, the scale of which is hard to imagine until you get up close. They are home to lots of Vultures as well as a dead cert wintering location for Wallcreepers which can be found, with patience, in the shady crevices I was told.

so here we are a bit closer having parked the car just outside the hamlet

As I climbed nearer this Black Kite came drifting over me

and then I saw the first wallcreeper, aka rock climber!

(and, no, he hasn't got a bare bum, its his "ordinary" shoes slung round his waist if you look closely!). I don't fancy this as a pastime at all, thanks. There were 4 lots there today

From here, just turn round and admire the view while waiting for the Wallcreepers to appear

This plant caught my eye tho' I've no idea what it is - have you?﻿

I spent 4 hours here gazing into shady crevices like this without any Wallcreepers showing themselves - there was a brief glimpse of a Blue Rock Thrush, photograph impossible. This view also shows Griffon Vulture nest ledges ( look for the white poo)

Oh look! There's one now

This place was very quaint and narrow, a bit like Loporzano but more hilly﻿

and this yellow plant was very striking but, to me, unscented

this next picture, which I've twiddled a bit, gives some sense of scale, and the bravery of the rock climbers; they frightened me

So, I failed to see the Wallcreepers here, oh well!

Next day I went South into the steppes and regretted not taking my telescope. Apart from the larks present, all other stuff was a long way away, or very wary. A good camera, together with the skill to make the most of it, like Steve Ray or Phil Smith, are also essential; so, with apologies, no pics of the goodies found . This first view is typical of the scenery, quite unlike any other part of Spain I've been to

Here is the place I was directed to, where I found Stone Curlew, Calandra, Thekla, Short Toed, Lesser Short Toed, Crested and possibly Dupont's Lark, Black Bellied and Pin Tailed Sandgrouse, Tawny Pipit, Short Toed Eagle, and Linnet!

Later, at a small lake and reedbed, I found the warden, one Alberto - smashing bloke, who was very excited by the prescence, among the Red Crested Pochard and Black Necked Grebe, of a pair of Tufted Duck!

Later, back at Loporzano, another walk into the low hills at the back of the village as a thunderstorm brewed up in the hills

the scent of this almond blossom was just superb

and as the sky darkened, the blossom itself seemed to glow, it was all very dramatic, and I couldn't resist getting all arty!

Back at the church the White Storks were at home on the somewhat crumbling tower

and as it started to rain I headed back, stopping for this pic of the Castell Montearagon

When I got back to Boletas, somewhat damp, the Storks were down feeding, and this is my attempt to photograph them at the end of the rainbow!

My prize for getting wet was this butterfly photographed while the sun was still shining, a superb Spanish Festoon. It was worth the trip almost just to see this

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Seeing as some of us were off to Antarctica, I decided to go South a bit meself, to the Boletas Birdwatching Centre near to Huesca, and in the foothills of the Pyrenees. This is a pic of a Pyrenee from a previous visit back in May 2004 with Neil Frampton, when we stayed on the French side - see

This time I went KLM via Amsterdam to Barcelona and then a 3 hour drive. The problem was the departure board at Amsterdam showed a 10.05 flight to Barca at gate B16, with a strange flight number. I assumed (BIG MISTAKE) it was one of those flights with more than one number and settled down by the gate to wait. Then I became aware of my name over the PA, went to the desk to be told I was on the KLM flight from gate D87.Rush rush rush, got there a couple minutes late darn it. My excuse is that the KLM flight at 10.05 wasn't on the board, just the Vueling one I waited for. Should have checked at the desk when I got to the gate- dolt. No worries I was transferred to a later flight at no cost and arrived 2 hours later than planned - i.e after dark - at Boletas -

Sunday, 9 March 2014

Coo-er, that's a long gap since the last blog, my excuse being the weather and old age. There has been some activity on the railway layout, more than recent winters 'cos it's been so (relatively) warm. Tree making and scenery painting has featured

but there's still lots of work to do around the engine shed and main station, but progress will slow down a bit now as the demands of the garden and spring birding compete for time

On the subject of the weather, I awoke one morning to find this spectacular cloud formation above the Kingsdown Road, weird wasn't it?

This morning I found the Juniper beside the pond to be releasing pollen in profuse quantities - a reminder of things to come for Asthma and Hay Fever sufferers I guess

and, like Tony Morris, the first moths of the year, Hebrew Character and Common Quaker. My notes show that last spring there was no suitable weather for moth trapping from 7th March until 9th April, with one session on 19th March which produced, guess what - a March Moth!

About Me

My website is at www.forewood.co.uk - it's awaiting overhaul - visit and you'll see why, but there's plenty to see there. Me?, I'm old enough to know better, unable presently to update and maintain my website, so using this blog instead. Sussex born, worked in local governement, redundant in 1999, done all sorts since. Came to St Margaret's in 1994 from Cheriton. As you can see from my photo, our 'ouse is a super place to see passing aeroplanes as well as birds. Local blogs by both Tony Morris - http://stmargaretsphotodiary.blogspot.com/ and Phil Smith http://mrphil-kearsneybirder.blogspot.com/ well worth following, too